Firearms Owners Against Crime
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Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The person pronounced dead in an armed robbery and shooting Thursday night in Allentown was the perpetrator of a robbery spree, authorities announced.
Darrell Mussa, 27, of the 1900 block of Glendale Ave. in West Bethlehem, had just robbed Pennsylvania Avenue Cold Beer and Beverages at gunpoint, about 8:45 p.m. at 1452 Pennsylvania Ave., Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said in a news release.
Mussa then went next door to Drake's Pizza in the Allentown strip mall on the border with Bethlehem and again displayed a handgun as he committed a second armed robbery, Martin said.
"While Mussa was committing that second robbery, the victim of the beverage facility robbery confronted Mussa inside Drake’s Pizza," Martin says in the release.
The first victim was armed with a legally possessed semiautomatic handgun and shot Mussa as Mussa pointed his gun at the victim and was turning to flee, according to Martin.
Mussa made it into the parking lot where he collapsed and was later pronounced dead at a St. Luke's University Health Network facility. Following an autopsy Friday, Mussa was found to have died of multiple gunshot wounds and Lehigh County Coroner Eric Minnich ruled the death homicide.
Martin reviewed the findings of investigators, including in-store video from Drake's, and ruled the homicide of Mussa "justifiable on the grounds of self-defense," according to the release.
The release does not identify the beer distributor victim who shot Mussa.
The strip mall is owned by Samir Dayoub, according to Lehigh County property records. The liquor license for Pennsylvania Avenue Cold Beer & Beverages lists Samir Dayoub as president of the business and Michael Dayoub as manager.
Efforts to reach the Dayoubs for comment were not immediately successful.
The beer distributor and Drake's Pizza were both closed early Friday afternoon, as commerce continued at other businesses in the strip mall. Calls later in the afternoon to both businesses involved in the incident went unanswered.
A clerk at the A1 Stop convenience store in the mall told lehighvalleylive.com the owner of the beer distributor owns the entire property and keeps a careful watch on the four businesses there.
The incident marked the second ruling in two days from Martin of justifiable homicide in the killing of a robber in Allentown. Martin on Thursday announced that same ruling in the case of a 48-year-old man who broke into a home in the 700 block of North 11th Street and began assaulting a juvenile occupant, who then fatally stabbed the intruder, identified as Allentown resident Luis Nieves.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.